David Shapiro’s first CD 16 commercial has him taking on bullies

Democratic congressional candidate David Shapiro is launching the first television commercial of his campaign for Florida’s 16th Congressional District, touting his commitment to take on bullies.

The 30-second spot, “Vowed,” is being placed on broadcast and cable television in the Tampa-St. Petersburg market, where Shapiro faces fellow lawyer Jan Schneider in the Aug. 28 Democratic primary.

The winner will seek a shot at replacing Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan.

The vow is the promise that Shapiro said he made to himself as a 10-year-old to stand up to bullies, with the implication that it led him to become a lawyer who “stood up to insurance companies and greedy corporations.”

That sequence first shows a dramatization of a young boy watching in fear as bullies push around another boy, and then shows the adult Shapiro talking at a trial.

“Now Washington politicians are bullying seniors, cutting Social Security and Medicare, and breaking the promises we made to our veterans,” he continues in the spot. “I’ll protect seniors and make sure veterans get the services they’ve earned.”